Alum and all-time leading scorer in Sachem history is the coach of her old program.
Kristen Doherty has been the face of Sachem East basketball since her days of leading the Arrows to Long Island and state championships. After a successful Division I playing career at Boston College, and one year as the JV coach at Sachem East, Doherty is now leading her alma mater as its varsity coach.
The Arrows beat William Floyd, 51-15, on Tuesday night to earn Doherty her first varsity coaching win. Alyssa Signor led Sachem with 17 points, and made five three-point baskets.
During her high school senior year, Doherty averaged 27 points, 5.6 steals and 3.8 rebounds per game. She was a three-time All-State selection and was a fourth team Parade All-American. Her 2,277 career points rank sixth all-time in Suffolk County history, and first in Sachem history. She was just the seventh player in Boston College history to score 1,000 points and grab 600 rebounds.
It was during her senior year, on a historic run to a New York State basketball championship where she realized she wanted to eventually come back and be a teacher and coach at her alma mater. She also credits her high school coach and Sachem Hall of Famer, Matt Brisson, as a guiding light in her pursuit of that storied tradition of excellence at Sachem.
“It’s a family here, you put in a lot of time for this program and we all work hard,” she said. “I see that in my players today. For me to be at Sachem is an honor.”
Vice versa. The players feel the same way.
“Playing for coach Doherty is an honor for us, especially our senior year, to be able to play for such a great coach and great player,” said Notre Dame bound Danielle Cosgrove. “She has a lot to teach us. We’ve only been playing for her for a month, but already we’ve learned so much. I think she inspires us every day to make Sachem proud.”
Added senior Kaitlyn Wolff: “I grew up watching her play. To be able to have one of your role models become a coach for you is just an amazing thing. To all the advice she got as a player and see her success transferred into advice for us is a great moment. To have that chance to play for someone you have looked up for so long, you just want to make them proud.”
Doherty will be stressing team chemistry and accountability with her players. She is also heavily focused on the defensive side of the game.
“I genuinely believe defense will win games and offense will come,” she said. “Buckling down on defense changes games.”
Brisson will be back at Sachem East on January 5 when Patchogue-Medford travels to Farmingville. He is now coaching the Raiders in his retirement from Sachem. It will be the pupil and the profit lined up as opponents in a familiar location, only this time both are imparting wisdom on the next generation of Suffolk County basketball players.
“Brisson really instilled in us as players what it means to wear this jersey and that Sachem Schools is something to be proud of,” said Doherty. “He took that very seriously when I was here. Each day the girls come into the gym I stress how important it is to be a part of this program.”
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro